In this special episode of Tank Talks, recorded live during Toronto Tech Week at Moomoo Canada’s flagship store in Yorkville, Matt Cohen sits down with two of venture’s sharpest data and investment minds for an unfiltered conversation on the state of private markets.
Why LPs are letting go of newer relationships while sticking with 15-year partners.
The COVID furlough analogy: why junior and newer team members are the first to go.
How trust became the ultimate table stakes in today’s fundraising environment.
Why SpaceX’s IPO would return only 10% of capital deployed over the last decade.
The staggering number of unicorns still sitting on stale marks from 2021.
What happens when 50% of unicorn down rounds become the new normal.
Seed valuations jumped from $15M post-money (2022) to $24M (2025).
Series A went from $46M to nearly $80M in the same period.
Why the gap between the top decile and the median has never been wider.
How GPs must adapt ownership expectations or get priced out of deals.
December 2021: 640 unicorns on Carta; 85% of current US unicorns.
30% have raised new up-rounds; of the rest, half raised down rounds of 50% or more.
How GPs are forced to tell LPs that their “trophy assets” are no longer real.
Why disciplined 3-4 year deployment beats 18-month “firehose” strategies.
The 80/20 reserve debate: why leading rounds can become a net negative.
How “deal 13” is just as likely to succeed as “deal 12”, and why slightly larger portfolios make sense.
Why TDPI and DPI are just 2 of 100 mosaic factors in LP decision-making.
How LPs now go company-by-company, not fund-by-fund.
The importance of founder references, especially from failed companies.
Why every market (Toronto, Sydney, London, Seattle) faces the same “Silicon Valley problem.”
The importance of domestic liquidity and secondary markets over chasing US LPs.
Why returns, not international capital, will ultimately scale Canadian firms.
The ATM analogy: AI will eliminate tasks, not jobs.
Why the role of the investor becomes more important as noise and froth increase.
How family offices are shifting their mix between fund investing and direct deals.
Why illiquidity in private markets is a feature, not a bug.
The absurdity of allowing crypto “shitcoins” but blocking friends from investing in startups.
Why “401k-entrance” to private equity is a bigger story than retail venture access.